In flashbacks to 2005, Nathan Ingram continues the ruse of pretending he's the sole creator of the Machine, keeping Finch's identity a secret from the government. When asked to demonstrate the Machine's capabilities, Nathan delivers a single social security number to Alicia Corwin, the government liaison. Alicia returns with Denton Weeks, the Deputy Director of the NSA, and news that the social security number lead them to a traitor. Weeks demands to know how the Machine spotted a traitor, but Nathan says it's a BlackBox system that no one can access, meaning no one's rights are being violated and it can't be aimed at particular targets (it already watches all potential targets). Weeks threatens to cut the government funding if Nathan doesn't comply, and Alicia informs him that in exchange for building the Machine, Nathan is being paid exactly $1 USD. Finch watches this exchange via the Machine's feeds, and it flags Weeks as a threat to the system. Later, Nathan congratulates Finch for the Machine's performance and asks him to briefly "pop the hood": Finch walks Nathan through how the Machine spotted patterns and made connections to pick out the number as a person of interest. Nathan finds the whole thing terrifying, which is why Finch plans to encrypt the operating system so heavily that no one will ever be able to crack it. He doesn't mind his role in the Machine's creation being a total secret because it's the only way to ensure it won't be misused by Weeks and others like him. As Finch comments on the Machine's "instinct for self-preservation", the audience sees the Machine flagging Nathan as a threat to the system.

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In flashbacks to 2005, Nathan Ingram continues the ruse of pretending he's the sole creator of the Machine, keeping Finch's identity a secret from the government. When asked to demonstrate the Machine's capabilities, Nathan delivers a single social security number to Alicia Corwin, the government liaison. Alicia returns with Denton Weeks, the Deputy Director of the NSA, and news that the social security number lead them to a traitor. Weeks demands to know how the Machine spotted a traitor, but Nathan says it's a BlackBox system that no one can access, meaning [[LoopholeAbuse no one's rights are being violated violated]] and it can't be aimed at particular targets (it already watches all potential targets). Weeks threatens to cut the government funding if Nathan doesn't comply, and Alicia informs him that in exchange for building the Machine, Nathan is being paid exactly $1 USD. Finch watches this exchange via the Machine's feeds, and it flags Weeks as a threat to the system. Later, Nathan congratulates Finch for the Machine's performance and asks him to briefly "pop the hood": Finch walks Nathan through how the Machine spotted patterns and made connections to pick out the number as a person of interest. Nathan finds the whole thing terrifying, which is why Finch plans to encrypt the operating system so heavily that no one will ever be able to crack it. He doesn't mind his role in the Machine's creation being a total secret because it's the only way to ensure it won't be misused by Weeks and others like him. As Finch comments on the Machine's "instinct for self-preservation", the audience sees the Machine flagging Nathan as a threat to the system.

** Finch notes that most people don't change their wifi password from the one the phone company gives them, which is their phone number. Lily, however, changes her wifi password every day, using alphanumeric passwords. It would seem excessive if she didn't know she was being stalked.

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** Finch notes that most people don't change their wifi [=WiFi=] password from the one the phone company gives them, which is their phone number. Lily, however, changes her wifi [=WiFi=] password every day, using alphanumeric passwords. It would seem excessive if she didn't know she was being stalked.

* WorthlessForeignDegree: The doctor Finch takes Reese to is a very talented surgeon, who's working as a medical examiner because he isn't licensed to practice in America; he can't afford to get certified as he sends most of his paycheck back to his family. Finch's BriefcaseFullOfMoney solves that problem.

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* WorthlessForeignDegree: The doctor Finch takes Reese to is a very talented surgeon, who's working as a medical examiner because he isn't licensed to practice in America; he can't afford to get certified as he sends most of his paycheck back to his family. Finch's BriefcaseFullOfMoney solves that problem.problem.------>[[AC:Possible Threat Detected. [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife Website: TV Tropes]].]]

* {{Understatement}}: Reese's response to why he's in a wheelchair. To put this in perspective, the night he's referring to involved him being shot in the abdomen and leg by a CIA sniper, nearly bleeding out in a stairwell while trying to escape, and then being operated on by an unlicensed surgeon in a morgue because he couldn't risk going to a hospital. Rough night indeed!--> '''Reese''': I had a rough night.* WhamLine: [[AC:Possible threat detected. Subject: Ingram, Nathan C.]]

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* {{Understatement}}: Reese's response to why he's in a wheelchair. To put this in perspective, the night he's referring to involved him being shot in the abdomen and leg by a CIA sniper, nearly bleeding out in a stairwell while trying to escape, and then being operated on by an unlicensed surgeon in a morgue because he couldn't risk going to a hospital. Rough night indeed!--> '''Reese''': hospital.-->'''Reese''': I had a rough night.* WhamLine: WhamLine:-->'''The Machine:''' [[AC:Possible threat detected. Subject: Ingram, Nathan C.]]

Meanwhile, Carter is being trailed by Snow and a CIA field team who are still determined to find Reese; Snow wants to interrogate him and find out "what happened in Ordos", but is happy to kill Reese if it comes to that. She gives the CIA the slip and follows her only lead -- [[Recap/PersonOfInterestS01E04 "Harold Burdett"'s contact information]] -- to track down Finch, so she can find out exactly what he and Reese do. Finch tells Carter that one of the people in the bar, a man named Derek, will soon be involved in a violent crime. Trailing Derek, she intervenes in time to stop him killing the banker who foreclosed his house, and Finch calls to answer her earlier question that "''this'' is what we do". And Reese gives Fusco an empty bottle of painkillers with his fingerprints on them, and Fusco drives to the next state to plant the bottle in a vet's office. When the bottle is found by local police and the CIA find out, they call off the hunt for Reese in New York and leave Carter alone.

to:

Meanwhile, Carter is being trailed by Snow and a CIA field team who are still determined to find Reese; Snow wants to interrogate him and find out "what happened in Ordos", but is happy to kill Reese if it comes to that. She gives the CIA the slip and follows her only lead -- [[Recap/PersonOfInterestS01E04 "Harold Burdett"'s Harold Burdett's contact information]] -- to track down Finch, so she can find out exactly what he and Reese do. Finch tells Carter that one of the people in the bar, a man named Derek, will soon be involved in a violent crime. Trailing Derek, she intervenes in time to stop him killing the banker who foreclosed his house, and Finch calls to answer her earlier question that "''this'' is what we do". And Reese gives Fusco an empty bottle of painkillers with his fingerprints on them, and Fusco drives to the next state to plant the bottle in a vet's office. When the bottle is found by local police and the CIA find out, they call off the hunt for Reese in New York and leave Carter alone.

* {{Understatement}}: Reese's response to why he's in a wheelchair. To put this in perspective, the night he's referring to involved him being shot in the abdomen and leg by a CIA sniper, nearly bleeding out in a stairwell while trying to escape, and then being operated on by an unlicensed surgeon in a morgue because he couldn't risk going to a hospital. Rough night indeed!

** To put this in perspective, the night he's referring to involved him being shot in the abdomen and leg by a CIA sniper, nearly bleeding out in a stairwell while trying to escape, and then being operated on by an unlicensed surgeon in a morgue because he couldn't risk going to a hospital. Rough night indeed!

* WorthlessForeignDegree: The doctor Finch takes Reese to is a very talented surgeon, who's working as a medical examiner because he isn't licensed to practice in America; he can't afford to get certified as he sends most of his paycheck back to his family. Finch's BriefcaseFullOfMoney solves that problem.<<|Recap/PersonOfInterest|>>

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* WorthlessForeignDegree: The doctor Finch takes Reese to is a very talented surgeon, who's working as a medical examiner because he isn't licensed to practice in America; he can't afford to get certified as he sends most of his paycheck back to his family. Finch's BriefcaseFullOfMoney solves that problem.<<|Recap/PersonOfInterest|>>problem.

* RearWindowHomage: One of the rare variants that ''doesn't'' start with a RearWindowWitness, thanks to the Machine. There's definitely a RearWindowInvestigation, though, with Finch in the role of Creator/GraceKelly, and, like Jimmy Stewart, Reese is forced to confront the perpetrator while still hobbled by his injured leg.

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